Ginza

We want to thank Jerry Hulse for his recommendation of the marvelous old Fujiya Hotel in Hakone Park (Miyanoshita, Hakone) and Beverly Beyer and Ed Rabey for their recommendation of Hotel Gimmond in Kyoto and the Yaesu-Fujiya in Tokyo (Sotobori dori near the train station and the Ginza). We also want to thank them for mentioning the Grand Hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong. We appreciate their dining recommendations also. In Tokyo the Isen (8-15 Ginza) was within walking distance of the Yaesu-Fujiya, with delicious pork cutlets, but hard to find because it is upstairs.

In the not-so-distant past, children looked mainly to their fathers for lessons on life outside the home, on how to succeed in business, politics and social organizations. Mom occupied the center of family life and guided us in personal relationships; the values she stressed - empathy, kindness, fairness, collaboration - didn't seem to guide a dog-eat-dog world. But times change. Today, success in business often depends more on what our mothers traditionally taught us. In other words, male or female, many of the smartest, most creative and innovative among us are becoming more feminine.

The serious and the ironic -- not to mention the mundane -- were all represented at the opening of the third annual three-week multidisciplinary New Original Works Festival (NOW) at the REDCAT on Thursday. A boon for the city, this celebration of cherry-picked talents kicked off with a mix of straight theater, stylized movement, live music and Cher-worthy costuming in a two-hour program that, while not wholly knock-'em-dead, nevertheless proved mostly provocative.

My wife and I recently returned from an enjoyable trip to Hong Kong, China and Japan. While walking in the Ginza area one day in Tokyo, I discovered my wallet was missing and reported the loss to the police, who were very friendly and appeared genuinely concerned that my wallet may have been stolen. A few hours later, I received a call at my hotel room from a representative of the Tokyo Tourist Bureau informing me that my wallet had been found on the tour bus I had been on that morning.

Japanese investors, attracted by real estate in the United States and the prospect that yields may triple, are looking toward greater acquisition of prime property, particularly in Southern California's desirable "cluster" areas. An added incentive for the Japanese corporate investor today is the currency situation. "The yen is the highest it has ever been against the U. S.

The serious and the ironic -- not to mention the mundane -- were all represented at the opening of the third annual three-week multidisciplinary New Original Works Festival (NOW) at the REDCAT on Thursday. A boon for the city, this celebration of cherry-picked talents kicked off with a mix of straight theater, stylized movement, live music and Cher-worthy costuming in a two-hour program that, while not wholly knock-'em-dead, nevertheless proved mostly provocative.

In the not-so-distant past, children looked mainly to their fathers for lessons on life outside the home, on how to succeed in business, politics and social organizations. Mom occupied the center of family life and guided us in personal relationships; the values she stressed - empathy, kindness, fairness, collaboration - didn't seem to guide a dog-eat-dog world. But times change. Today, success in business often depends more on what our mothers traditionally taught us. In other words, male or female, many of the smartest, most creative and innovative among us are becoming more feminine.

Hot to shop but afraid of getting lost in Tokyo's Ginza district? A new city-sponsored sightseeing bus takes visitors on a loop of the area for about $2. Those who want to sample the swank stores and restaurants can buy a one-day pass that allows them to get on and off the bus whenever they like. The buses depart from the Yaesu exit of Tokyo Station. Passes are sold on board the bus, which makes the loop several times an hour, except on Mondays when trips are hourly.

Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone's campaign to boost imports took to the streets Saturday with Japanese government officials espousing the merits of foreign-made trash cans, baby buggies and popcorn poppers. At a busy intersection in Tokyo's crowded Ginza shopping district, a stage was set up for the foreign products, which were recommended by Japanese housewives who have lived overseas.

I dip my head under the indigo curtains that screen the doorway and take a seat at the white-blond maple counter. Sanded every night, its touch is familiar and reassuring, seductively smooth. A server hands me a steaming hot towel. I slip the paper wrapper off the chopsticks and place them on a pretty chopstick rest. Sliding my hands over the counter, I remember all the times I've sat here before -- not that many, really, but every one of them etched in my memory.

Just whose national pastime is this, anyway? . . . The Dodgers' opening game at Houston on Monday was televised in Japan, but not in Los Angeles. . . . Channel 5 thought the 11:30 a.m. local starting time would be a ratings buster. . . . In Tokyo, the game was shown live at 4:30 a.m. . . . And Hideo Nomo didn't even pitch. . . . Of course, Nomo's first start Wednesday at the Astrodome also will be televised in Japan. But not in L.A. . . .

Hot to shop but afraid of getting lost in Tokyo's Ginza district? A new city-sponsored sightseeing bus takes visitors on a loop of the area for about $2. Those who want to sample the swank stores and restaurants can buy a one-day pass that allows them to get on and off the bus whenever they like. The buses depart from the Yaesu exit of Tokyo Station. Passes are sold on board the bus, which makes the loop several times an hour, except on Mondays when trips are hourly.

To Yuji Ishimaru, Japan's top corporations aren't just a bunch of skyscrapers downtown. They are living, breathing entities. And at night, they drop by his neighborhood, the Ginza, to spend their money. "If you want to know how Japan's economy is really doing, all you have to do is watch the Ginza," Ishimaru said from his office overlooking the famed up-market district. So, how is it doing? "Terrible," said Ishimaru, executive director of the Ginza Street Assn. "Just terrible."

For Aoyama, a cut-rate men's clothing chain, the move into Tokyo's uppity Ginza shopping and entertainment district was mostly an experiment in marketing. Its new neighbors saw something akin to a social revolution. "There is a 'local consciousness' that this is a high-class neighborhood into which we don't fit," said Mitsunori Fujii, chief of Aoyama's new Ginza shop.

Just whose national pastime is this, anyway? . . . The Dodgers' opening game at Houston on Monday was televised in Japan, but not in Los Angeles. . . . Channel 5 thought the 11:30 a.m. local starting time would be a ratings buster. . . . In Tokyo, the game was shown live at 4:30 a.m. . . . And Hideo Nomo didn't even pitch. . . . Of course, Nomo's first start Wednesday at the Astrodome also will be televised in Japan. But not in L.A. . . .

After a period of decline, the Ginza, Tokyo's garish yet fashionable fantasyland for more than a century, is drawing back patrons who had defected to trendier places. New department stores are going up among the Ginza's 3,400 bars and restaurants and its 500 smaller retail stores. The government recently announced a $1.4-billion plan to relocate the Ginza's subway stations, build a four-level underground shopping center and construct hotels and apartments above nearby expressways.

My wife and I recently returned from an enjoyable trip to Hong Kong, China and Japan. While walking in the Ginza area one day in Tokyo, I discovered my wallet was missing and reported the loss to the police, who were very friendly and appeared genuinely concerned that my wallet may have been stolen. A few hours later, I received a call at my hotel room from a representative of the Tokyo Tourist Bureau informing me that my wallet had been found on the tour bus I had been on that morning.

Tokyo's Ginza ousted New York's East 57th Street as the most expensive in the world for retail rental rates in 1988, according to a new survey. With rates for retail space soaring to $650 a square foot, Tokyo's most famous shopping street moved to first place in 1988, topping a field that also included New York's Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive and London's Bond Street, according to the Hirschfeld Cos., a New York retail real estate brokerage that compiled the annual survey.